CINEWORLD will be allowed to continue operating on the Waterfront for at least another four years – and potentially five more after that – following amendments to the company’s lease arrangements with the Jersey Development Company.
The changes, which are dependent on the JDC gaining planning permission for its major scheme to transform the area, have secured the cinema’s multiplex operation on the site until 2027.
After this point a break clause could be exercised if there are not enough admissions to keep the cinema financially viable.
The overall lease has been extended to a new expiry date of June 2032, and the JDC – which acquired the Waterfront Leisure Complex in November 2018 – has waived some of the Cineworld’s rent arrears debt.
Islanders are being urged by the JDC to use the cinema or risk losing it.
In the wake of the Covid pandemic, the organisation – including the UK cinema arm which Jersey is part of – filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States.
Revenues from the local cinema were marginal, with usage reducing from 280,000 visits in 2019 to just 180,000 visits in 2022.
The company last year appealed against an order to pay £1 million in unpaid rent and insurance costs incurred while the venue was shut during the pandemic.
However, the JDC has said it agreed to waive some of the company’s rent arrears debt ‘in return for a longer-term commitment’.
The States-owned entity’s chief executive, Lee Henry, said: ‘We are pleased to have reached agreement with Cineworld and to retain the Island’s cinema multiplex operation for the foreseeable future. The fact that the majority of objections to our future plans for the Waterfront referenced the closure of the cinema highlights the importance of the facility to Islanders. It was incumbent upon us as a government-owned company to facilitate the Island’s community and not simply maximise profit.’
If occupancy drops below a rolling three-year annual average of 180,000 visits after 2027, Cineworld is able to exit the arrangement subject to a six-month notice period.
Cineworld property director Kevin Frost added: ‘We are grateful to the Jersey Development Company for working with us on the commercial terms to have found a way, together, to keep the local cinema multiplex open and trading for at least the next four years, and hopefully another five after that.’
